Proximal stent-graft retention system

Abstract

A proximal stent-graft retention system includes a stent-graft having a suture loop attached to a proximal end of the stent-graft and a delivery catheter having a distal tip that includes a retention feature. The retention feature can include a slot extending through a sidewall of the distal tip and a trigger wire. The slot of the distal tip exposes a portion of the trigger wire within the tip lumen such that the trigger wire may extend through the suture loop of the stent-graft at the slot of the distal tip of the delivery catheter and is configured to retain the proximal end of the stent-graft in the radially expanded configuration via the suture loop to prevent distal migration and compression of the stent-graft. Proximal retraction of the trigger wire releases the suture loop of the stent-graft such that the stent-graft is no longer coupled to the delivery catheter.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A retention system comprising:
 a stent-graft including:
 a proximal body having a proximal-most stent ring; 
 a graft material; and 
 a loop attached to a proximal end of the stent-graft, wherein the stent-graft has a radially compressed configuration for delivery within a vasculature and a radially expanded configuration for deployment, and 
   a delivery catheter including:
 an inner shaft having a shaft lumen extending from a distal end to a proximal end of the inner shaft, wherein the stent-graft is disposed over a distal portion of the inner shaft in the radially compressed configuration; 
   a distal tip coupled to the distal end of the inner shaft, the distal tip including a tip lumen and a slot extending through a sidewall of the distal tip, wherein the tip lumen is fluidly connected to the shaft lumen to form a trigger wire lumen of the delivery catheter; and
 a trigger wire extending through the trigger wire of the delivery catheter, 
   wherein the slot of the distal tip exposes a portion of the trigger wire within the tip lumen,   wherein the trigger wire extends through the loop of the stent-graft at the slot of the distal tip of the delivery catheter and is configured to retain the proximal end of the stent-graft in the radially expanded configuration via the loop to prevent distal migration and compression of the stent-graft, and   wherein proximal retraction of the trigger wire releases the loop of the stent-graft such that the stent-graft is no longer coupled to the delivery catheter.   
     
     
         2 . The retention system of  claim 1 , wherein the stent-graft is a bifurcated stent-graft, the bifurcated stent-graft having an internal branch and an external branch that extend distally from the proximal body. 
     
     
         3 . The retention system of  claim 1 , wherein the loop is attached to the proximal-most stent ring at the proximal end of the stent-graft. 
     
     
         4 . The retention system of  claim 1 , wherein the loop is attached to the graft material at the proximal end of the stent-graft. 
     
     
         5 . The retention system of  claim 1 , wherein the trigger wire is a guidewire for the delivery catheter. 
     
     
         6 . The retention system of  claim 1 , wherein the loop is a single loop such that the proximal end of the stent-graft includes exactly one loop. 
     
     
         7 . The retention system of  claim 1 , wherein the loop has a length of about 3-20 mm. 
     
     
         8 . The retention system of  claim 1 , wherein the loop is configured to constrain less than 20% of a perimeter of the stent-graft when the stent-graft is in the radially expanded configuration. 
     
     
         9 . The retention system of  claim 1 , wherein the proximal-most stent ring of the stent-graft includes a plurality of proximal-most crowns. 
     
     
         10 . The retention system of  claim 9 , wherein the loop is coupled to a single proximal-most crown of the proximal-most stent ring or is coupled to exactly two proximal-most crowns of the proximal-most stent ring, the exactly two proximal-most crowns being directly adjacent to each other. 
     
     
         11 . A retention system comprising:
 a stent-graft including:
 a proximal body having a proximal segment including a proximal-most stent ring; 
 a graft material, wherein the stent-graft has a radially compressed configuration for delivery within a vasculature and a radially expanded configuration for deployment, and 
   a delivery catheter including:
 an inner shaft having a shaft lumen extending from a distal end to a proximal end of the inner shaft; and 
 a distal tip coupled to the distal end of the inner shaft, the distal tip including a tip lumen and a distal-facing notch formed in a sidewall of the distal tip, wherein the tip lumen is fluidly connected to the shaft lumen to form a guidewire lumen of the delivery catheter, 
   wherein the distal-facing notch is configured to receive the proximal segment of the stent-graft such that the distal-facing notch retains the proximal end of the stent-graft in the radially expanded configuration to prevent distal migration and compression of the stent-graft, and   wherein proximal retraction of the delivery catheter releases the proximal segment from the distal-facing notch of the distal tip such that the stent-graft is no longer coupled to the delivery catheter.   
     
     
         12 . The retention system of  claim 11 , wherein the proximal-most stent ring of the stent-graft includes a plurality of proximal-most crowns and wherein the proximal segment of the stent-graft to be received by the distal-facing notch is a single proximal-most crown of the proximal-most stent ring of the stent-graft. 
     
     
         13 . The retention system of  claim 11 , wherein the proximal segment of the stent-graft to be received by the distal-facing notch is a loop attached to a proximal end of the stent-graft. 
     
     
         14 . The retention system of  claim 13 , wherein the loop is attached to the proximal-most stent ring at the proximal end of the stent-graft. 
     
     
         15 . The retention system of  claim 13 , wherein the loop is attached to the graft material at the proximal end of the stent-graft. 
     
     
         16 . The retention system of  claim 13 , wherein the loop is a single loop such that the proximal end of the stent-graft includes exactly one loop. 
     
     
         17 . The retention system of  claim 13 , wherein the loop has a length of about 3-20 mm. 
     
     
         18 . The retention system of  claim 13 , wherein the loop is configured to constrain less than 20% of a perimeter of the stent-graft when the stent-graft is in the radially expanded configuration. 
     
     
         19 . The retention system of  claim 13 , wherein the loop is coupled to a single proximal-most crown of the proximal-most stent ring or is coupled to exactly two proximal-most crowns of the proximal-most stent ring, the exactly two proximal-most crowns being directly adjacent to each other. 
     
     
         20 . The retention system of  claim 11 , wherein the distal-facing notch is a protrusion formed by a slit that extends through a portion of the sidewall of the distal tip, the protrusion extending radially outward and in a distal direction towards a distal end of the distal tip.